Alabama Gymnast Shallon Olsen Leads Team Canada to Fourth-Place Finish at World Championships
10/30/2018 8:18:00 PM | Gymnastics
The Crimson Tide freshman posted the second-highest vault score of the day to help push Team Canada to a historic fourth-place team finish
DOHA, QATAR – Alabama gymnast Shallon Olsen was part of a historic day for the Canadian national team, helping lead her squad to a fourth-place finish, its best showing at the FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championships.
For the second day in a row, Olsen posted the second-highest vault score, leading Team Canada with a 14.800. Overall, her vault total trailed only the United States' Simone Biles, who scored a 15.500. The Canadian vault total of 43.78 was second only to Team USA's 44.67 and was more than a tenth of a point better than Brazil, which took third on the vault.
"It was another amazing day for Shallon and we are so very excited to watch her continue to shine in Doha," UA head coach Dana Duckworth said. "To be able to come through in a team setting like she has the last couple of days says a lot about her competitive spirit."
The United States took the team gold by nearly 10 points, finishing well ahead of the Russian Federation's silver medal effort. China took the bronze, followed by Canada. France rounded out the top five.
The Crimson Tide freshman will compete in the individual event finals on Friday and Saturday, where she is seeded second in the vault behind Biles.
Olsen finished eighth on the vault at the Rio Olympics. She also finished seventh on the vault and 16th on the floor exercise at the 2017 World Championships.
A member of the Canadian national team since 2010, Olsen earned gold on the vault at the 2016 Pacific Rim Championships, leading Team Canada to the silver medal. She also earned a silver medal on the floor exercise and a bronze on the vault at the 2014 Pacific Rim Championships while leading Canada to team silver.
Olsen and her Crimson Tide teammates open the 2019 season on January 4 in a quad meet with SEMO, Northern Illinois and Temple. Season tickets are available through the Alabama Ticket Office (205.348.2262) located in the lobby of Coleman Coliseum.
For all the latest information on Alabama gymnastics, follow BamaGymnastics on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook and head coach Dana Duckworth on Twitter and Instagram at @UACoachDana.
